Beasley stays hot with another goal, assist for Rangers

American midfielders hoping to make the 2010 U.S. World Cup team next summer had better beware. DaMarcus Beasley is back and has every intention of being in South Africa this summer.

Beasley continued his recent blazing hot form today, scoring a goal and setting up another in Rangers' 6-1 smashing of Motherwell. The match was Beasley's second straight with a goal and third straight he helped contribute to a goal.

While the level of competition in the Scottish Premier League isn't as high as some other European leagues, U.S. fans must still be encouraged by the way Beasley is looking these days. He looks fast and he looks confident, not to mention his touch and passing are looking as sharp as they have since his PSV Eindhoven days.

Here are Beasley's goal and assist from today's match:

What did you think of Beasley's latest goal? Starting believe that he will play his way onto the World Cup team? Anxious to see what he does in the Old Firm match-up vs. Celtic on Jan. 3?

133 Responses to Beasley stays hot with another goal, assist for Rangers

It is about time. I don’t have a particular endearment towards beasley. But he is my fellow countryman, and if he is playing well I want him on my USA roster of 23.

If he is hungry and not injured and doesn’t have glass feet, let’s go. If not stay home. I am tired of the up and down with him, and with Rangers (no longer of a fan of Americans going to SPL/Rangers/Celtic)

granted the spl is weaker than MLS with the exception of Rangers and Celtic….. but if stu holden were as hot as Run-DMB is for Rangers the MLS would be annointing him the next donovan…… BEAS will def start at the WC if keeps playing like this….. Bob has a superhardon for him so much so that he played him a leftback…. with him in form BOB will def start him at Right wing… over holden….

Wonderful body control on the goal, you could see his feet get a bit behind him but he stayed up. And the assist was even more impressive. Hits the man in stride, right in front of the defender but not too close to the speeding keeper. Beautiful work, I hope he can keep this running for another 6-7 months.

I love the whole playing people on the opposite side of their strong foot… it plays right into what BOB wishes the team was capable of doing which is counter-attacking… Beas on the right and Donovan on the left allows for them to pinch in front of the holding mids and having the outside backs making overlapping runs…… This is the ideal bucket with a spoon for bob bradley

Beasley has looked good because he’s now showing an ability to play and use the ball at all different paces, allowing him to adjust in a split second to the physical play of Scotland. I’m not calling him a Xavi or an Iniesta, I’m just saying that the fact that he’s getting older and losing speed, combined with the physicality of the SPL has made him realize that he’ll need to depend on his technical skills as much, if not more than his pace.

If Beasley is able to stay in this ballpark of form then I believe he should stay with Rangers. At the same time, if he gets an offer from a Spanish or Italian club that he has a chance of getting good time for, I’d go along that path as well. It will further improve his touch, passing, and skill on the ball.

As far as national team implications go, I think it’s all the more reason to call up Beasley for a friendly against Ireland, Netherlands, or Mexico(if that friendly is even happening). With Davies still a wild card for the World Cup, a speed option with skill, touch, and passing ability is what this national team has been missing for a couple of months. I’d figure something like this:

—————————-Altidore——————

————————Dempsey———————–

Donovan———–Bradley——-Edu————Beasley

Bornstein——-Bocanegra——-DeMerit——–Spector

————————-Howard———————–

Hopefully Altidore will have gotten some minutes. I don’t care if it’s from Hull, Villareal, or some team in deep Siberia. He needs some minutes so we can have a striker who knows how to hold the ball properly and take players.

But in all seriousness, I think Bradley will play Beasley on the right, seeing as how Donovan has shown proficiency on the right. Still, Donovan+Castillo, or Beasley+Castillo( or Donovan+Bea-…. alright I’ll stop) It’ll be a very fast flank.

Interesting to see Beas on the right again. The quality of the opponenet makes me hesitate to say that he’s back 100%, but he certainly deserves to be back in the US camp and get another shot given recent performances.

1) Spector prefers to play on the left ( he’s come out and said it) and Bornstein might have played better if he had a winger who actually dropped back, although he didn’t do himself any favors in that game either.
2. Feilhaber and Bradley have shown that they can’t start together unless there is a clear defensive midfielder behind them(Jones, Clark, Edu). Otherwise, they both get forward, leave a gaping hole in the midfield, and even get in each other’s way sometimes. With Jones, Edu, and Clark, they’re both players who are willing to sit back and make the tackles, although they have all shown ability going forward.

Beasely has always been about speed and I suspect relative to the spl he still has lots to burn. I wonder how he will look against players that can match his speed. You can’t often question his work rate and his quickness has always helped him recover from mistakes and get to balls that others would not. As he gets older, both of those things are likely to suffer. The question is can he do other things to effectively compensate.

if you really think that the mls is better than the spl… then you just don’t watch a lot of mls… mls is garbage, absolutely garbage. The speed of the game is incredibly slow, and the ball skills of the players are seriously porous. MLS is a notch below the scandanavian leagues which are on par with the spl…

DMB is following the comeback recipe perfectly. I was ready to bury him a few months ago, but if he does this consistently, for club and for the MNT in friendlies, he is going to force BB’s hand. A nice dilemma to have, isn’t it?

Wonderful news! I bashed with the best of him during his rough stretch, but not because I don’t want him to be successful- he simply had no place with the Nats at the time. It’s great that he’s regaining his form; hopefully he can get a few looks in the upcoming friendlies and make enough of an impact to earn his spot in the lineup back. I’d like to see him rotate in with Donovan and Dempsey or something like that. It’s great to had a surplus of talented players!

Beasley has had the same production at Rangers, one of the only two decent teams in the SPL, as had with the Fire. If he’s doing the same with “better” players at Rangers as he did with “inferior” players at Chicago, then The other 8 SPL teams realy must be crap.

To all the DMB haters…no one is saying two goals in two SPL games means a lock for South Africa. All we are saying is that if DMB can continue this run of form for the remainder of the season that BB will be hard pressed not to include him in the squad. Keep it up Beaz!

I’ll give you credit Ives, you kept telling us not to write Beasley off and now he shows us why. I never wanted him on the national team again after last summer, but he’s reminding me why he’s so important to the national team. Run DMB, Run

Not sure who you’re saving your “endearment” for, but this is a really good man. It’s great to see him prosper, and I’d love to ride that recent good form to success in the world cup. Too bad we don’t have any A-holes for you to support.

SPL is more than “slightly better”. An MLS side would never win the SPL crown. Sure, the league is top heavy with Rangers and Celtic but an MLS side would never win a thing against those clubs. In a “slightly better” league a quality MLS club would stand a chance.

As we all know making the USMNT and playing in the WC requires alot of things to fall into place. game fitness, experience and a skill that fits a certain role. DMB is peeking at the right time. He should have fresh legs heading into the WC, he’s experienced, should be playing with confidence and he gives BB someone that can exploit opposing teams line ups. DMB is the type player who may do nothing at all and then have that one moment where he makes the perfect pass that wins the game and the US advances

You sure an MLS team wouldn’t win the SPL? They could take every other team at the same pace as Rangers and Celtic and then I do not think matches against those sides would be impossible to win. It would be hard but I bet MLS teams could put 6 goals in past Motherwell or whoever they played today.

If he does that,…he will perform better in training, get PT for his club and produce in a second rate league and get called into the national team.

Does anyone think it is coincidence that Beasely is performing well with Rangers AFTER he was dropped by Bradley? DMB’s ‘loss of form’ was simply a case of a young man taking his ability/gift for granted and not taking care of himself. The thought of missing out on the World Cup has lit a fire under his ass and ‘helped’ him regain focus.

Good for DMB and the USMNT. There is no doubt that an in form DMB can help us in SA.

I dunno. I love MLS but I couldn’t see an MLS side bringing regular and hard competition to Rangers/Celtic. The SPL is low on the European scale but the top clubs have MLS beat. If the financial aspects of the game were level then it would be a different story.

I feel like all the teams from the play offs save for New England would have a good chance in the SPL. Just my two cents. They’ve all shown ability to play an elevated level of football. Plus, if the MLS could slip right into the SPL and automatically adjust to the style of play I’d be shocked. The teams that DO play well in the SPL have had a while and have had good coaches who know the league. Dominic Kinnear and Bruce Arena are two coaches who I believe could manage an MLS team in the SPL.

Sorry Connor, the best U.S. players we can muster are heading to WC whether you think they deserve their spot or not. But feel free to swap-in one of our many other multiple goalscoring midfielders playing in elite European leagues if you must.

What I find most impressive about DMB’s play is that he is doing it essentially cold. He has not played much at all and you’d expect some rust, but instead he has come in at better form than he was when he was playing more regularly.

if you know him that is great if he is a ‘really great man’. To me, I see a person who is probablu a good person in general but a little self-centered and wrapped up in bullsh-t.

Hearing Beez talk about “promoting his brand” and what kind of car and bling he’s sporting. It would be easier to if he had a foundation to use his talent fortunateness to do something positive. You could name a lot of players on the US MNT team who have done that. Claudio Reyna and Stuart Holden pop out in my mind.

Uh, DaMarcus actually does do a lot of charity work, particularly in the Fort Wayne area. Also has a lot of scholarship participants at his Soccer Academy. But hey Lorenzo, feel free to bash away. I’m sure your charity work dwarfs his.

The thing about Beasley is that he doesn’t seem to crash in form when he doesn’t see the field. I mean, obviously there were parts of his poor play that only minutes with the club could solve, but it seemed that his overall problem was a question of confidence and mentality. He had an injury that messed with his career, he’d lost minutes for his club, and now, he’s lost a starting spot for his country; it had to be tough. However, he’s working his way back.

two World Cups worth of experience plus playing well currently. He is a sure thing at this point. Strange to see him on the right side, but it is working and with Dempsey going up top he could slot in with the Nat’s. Then him and Donovan could switch sides at will and cause more problems. Also, if Edu and Beas getting time together before the WC it could be an advantage for both to be on the field.

I’m just going by how he seems to me, as you are… fair enough. If I’m right, it’s great to see a good guy picking up his game right now rather than some prick. Not that I can think of any pricks in the player pool mind you.

Let’s just say thank God U.S. fans are not the ones in charge of team selection. What a bunch of flip flops. One minute everyone is hating on the guy…he score two goals and some assists and all of a sudden he has an army of supporters.

not the right location to post but want to put it out there….why did Jozy not make the bench for Hull….is arsenal too good so the coach doesn’t even include him as a sub….it’s true he hasn’t scored and yes we can say he needs to create his chances, but Jozy needs good service to be effective and he gets better service when he plays for the nats than at hull….hull’s midfield is not very good….

Been watching Beasley since I lived in Chicago during his rookie year with the Fire. All else aside, it is awfully good to see him getting back on track, and hopefully fulfilling the promise we Chicagoans saw so long ago.

It would be hard for them to bring regular competition season in and season out. But I think many MLS teams could come in 3rd place in Scotland. And I think with the exception of one team, the Beasley’s SPL competition is slightly better than MLS. (At best!)

This is why I have been repeating over and over for months (years?) on this blog that Beasley is not done. Anyone who says that a 27 year old who has previously played consistently at extremely high levels is irretrievably done is, frankly, a moron. You can never say that with certainty, and when you’re talking about someone who’s had as successful a career as Bease has, you’re almost certainly going to be proven wrong sooner or later.

As far as the US goes, Beasley’s skills are superlative. He’s one of the most talented and accomplished players this country has ever produced. If he keeps up anything near this level of form, he’s not only a lock for the roster but a pretty decent bet to start. And we should be thanking our lucky stars. Back in 2002 after Donovan and Bease tore up the World Cup, we were all just salivating for 2010, when they’d both be in their primes. Now it’s looking more and more like that dream might be back on.

I always have and always will be a DMB fan. When in form he is up there with Donovan with the positive influence he has on our games. Wow would I like to see in form DMB, JONES, BRADLEY, and DONOVAN across the middle in South Africa. All feeding balls to an in form Jozy and Clint. We’d be dangerous, gents.

Goals, assists and minutes should get BB watching. However this has to keep up for some time before I would bring him back. At some point we have to move on and the US tends to hold on to yesterdays hero’s too long.

I still consider DMB a one trick pony and I think we need more than a guy that’s basically ….. fast

Good for Beasely. Nice to see him performing again. But this is what 2 or 3 games and suddenly everyone is jumping on the band wagon?

Lets see what his form is like come March and April. I am rooting for him; the USA needs depth on the left side.

More of concern though is once again, I notice Phil “I am a D#*che Bag” Brown sat Jozy. I don’t beleive Jozy was even included on the subs bench. If our NT forward can’t get regular starts with Hull City, what does this mean for next summer?

Not a one trick pony, just a classic functional winger. I agree about waiting for more performances like this before we give him his spot back, but IF he is on form we could def use a true winger like him.

I love this one man! Now who do you have for the possible subs? Obviously everyone is wanting a CD return, but what about the midfield? Benny is doing good, Holden too…..but can anyone please try and picture Adu and his skills in the midfield? Holding the ball is what we need, countering cannot be the only offence!

I am glad Beasley is playing well…I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Robbie Rogers as either a starter or super sub. I think this will push him further down the pecking order. He may be ready sometime, but right now he’s not ready for international level.

I think consistency is more valuable than potential in a tournament with as few games as a WC. He has flashed his potential many times, but then will fade. You don’t want to go into a World Cup wondering what you’re going to get. Also, Beasley is famous for his brick wall-like first touch. Let’s not forget about that. He might be able to chase those down in the SPL but international defenders will jump all over those.

pedigree? come on. He was great for PSV, but lets be honest with ourselves. Just because you sign a contract with a brand name club doesnt make your time there credible unless you get on the field and produce, which beasley hasnt for the better part of the last 4 years.

Also, people citing his performances from 2002 as reason for why we should not discount him are kidding themselves. What about the 2006 World Cup? Did you miss that one? He was shocking.

I’m encouraged by his performances in the last week or so, but let’s be serious, the teams are picked in MAY. he’s still got a very long way to go.

You seem to be arguing against a point I never made. I addressed Jack’s statement that it is laughable to include DMB as one of the top 10 most talented/accomplished players we’ve ever produced. I agree he has a long way to go. I agree he has been consistently awful for the Nats recently. All that said IMO he’s still one of the best we’ve ever had.

Our subs should be able to cover more than one position………. Spector(lb,rb,cb) Edu(cdm,cb), Holden(rm,lm,cm),Adu(rm,lm,cam,cf) (yes Adu), Castillo(lwb,lm),feilhaber(cm,rm,lm), and guzan
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Whether a DMB believer or non-believer, I think we can all agree that his form will spark more competition for spots on the National team. Any competition in midfield and attacking spots will help curb some of the attacking complacency that has plagued us on occasion.

All I’m saying is he doesn’t seem like I’d be close friends with, and I have every right to think and say that. I don’t like the way he plays a lot of times, and I don’t like the things he says a lot of times.

I don’t understand why you got your panties all in a wad. WTF, people will have differences with other people, it is life. Spend your time chasing after Jim Rome.

Go ahead. Laugh your ass off, and I’ll laugh right back at you. Tied for 6th all time in goals for the national team, 2nd to Landon among active players, and had probably the greatest Champions League season any American has ever had – leading goalscorer on a team that reached the semis. Over the last 10 years – the strongest in the national team’s history – he’s the best winger we’ve had.

Besides, I never said he was top 10. But even if he’s top 25, he doesn’t deserve a fraction of the derision he gets from people on this site.

I can’t stand this kind of revisionism. You clearly missed his initial run for Rangers. He was a key player until he got injured. Stop pretending he never did anything for them. He is the first American to score in the Champions League for two different clubs.

You’re kidding yourself if you think it doesn’t matter that a 20 year old kid made a major impact in a World Cup run. It doesn’t mean he’s necessarily a great player now, but it means that there is no doubt that he CAN excel at the very highest levels, because he has. To me, that’s one solid factor in his favor over promising players like Holden who haven’t actually really shown anything yet. Also, using the 2006 World Cup as a reason why he should be discounted is silly. First of all, in case you missed it, it was his cross that led to our only goal. Second of all, players like Landycakes were LOST in Germany, but that doesn’t give us reason to discount them now. And third of all, even the best players fall out of form. The real issue is not whether they were bad at some point, but whether they were ever really any good. You can absolutely say that at one point, Beasley was the most accomplished international field player we had. Who else can you say that for on this team? Bradley, Dempsey… not a long list.

I agree he’s definitely got a long way to go. He doesn’t deserve to go solely because of this resurgence. My point is that everyone who wrote him off and said that he would never regain his form is, frankly, an idiot. Here’s to hoping he keeps it up through next summer, because we’ve really never produced a player like him.

best US roster to play and maybe even bat ENGLAND will be HOWARD – CHERUNDOLO – OGUCHI – DEMERIT – BOCANEGRA – lm BEASLEY – CM JONES – BRADLEY – rm DONOVAN- 2 UP TOP DEMPSEY AND DAVIES IF NOT THAN JOZY i guess

This is good news for the NATS. Having an in form Beas gives BOB another option in the cue. Let’s be clear, I don’t think Bob will roll out the same lineup in our first 3 games. Having an in form Beas, with the pace and his work rate tracking back, is a weapon starting or off the bench in S. Africa. I’m excited by the turnaround. I hope he keeps it up!

Great to see Beasley keep this run of form going!!! I really liked ho win his goal he used his body. This is a part of Beasleys game that has been lacking even in his best years. As far as the assist he had great vision but the striker did the work there.

I like the 11 man line-up based on Current play and form. But Considering there are still 5 months until the WC there are still roster spots to fill and a lot of time for people to regain/improve form and health. All the players need to keep pressuring to improve and stake claim to positions/options

The USNT needs to think of everything in terms of depth and plan at least 3 to 4 deep to cover issues of Form/Fitness/injury. Therefore I propose the following….

ST = Jozy, (who else?)

CF = Dempsy, Donovan, Findley(?)

LAM = Donovan, Castillo, Beasley, Torres, Rogers

RAM = Dempsey, Beasley, Holden, Donovan

LDM = Jones, Bradley, Edu, Feilharber, Clark, Torres

LWB = Bocanegra, Bornstein, Castillo, Simek

CB = Gocanegra, Oneywu, Demerit, Marshall, Spector

RWB = Spector, Cherundolo, Pearce (?)

GK = Howard, Guzan, Hahnemann, Perkins

the Problem with the USNT right now is viable quality players at the ST and CF positions and at CB. If Gooch can get back to the form he had at the Confed Cup then the 4/5 I listed above should be enough…if he can’t we need to find another quality CB fast.

Edu, Clark, Tracy, Grella, Goodson. However if you drop one/two of the “/” players from the Sub Rolls you could pick from the Alternates. And obviously if some of the injured players aren’t back to form/fitness pick an alternate and move them up. Left off Davies because I just can’t see him getting Healthy and playing in time.

I don’t think he should be back on the national team. I remember the last time he played he missed a pass on a corner kick, then watched a Brazilian player take the ball and move up forward for a goal. I don’t like his attitude, I don’t like his playing. It seems like he plays a couple good games every year, and that keeps him going to leech onto the national team squad. I hope I’m wrong and the DBM of 2002 is back, but I doubt it.

Everyone knows that Bradley is a moron and couldn’t possibly know anything about motivating players or getting good performances out of them.

Beasley’s good form is not a coincidence. It is a conspiracy by the USSF to convince us that Bradley is legitimate. They must have bribed the SPL teams to lay off of DMB. There must be a bonus in there for Rangers to play him as well.

Everyone knows that anyone on this blog can coach better than Bradley.

This may shock you but Jozy is actually not the best proven option for Hull to score consistently.

Say what you want about Phil Brown but if he thought for one second that having Jozy out there was better than not having him out there, he’d be out there. Relegation fear will do that to you; as will fear of being fired.

It’s intereting that you say that and I’d like to hear from others but one reason I’ve always been driven into near homicidal rages by DMB is that he is the original poster boy for the USMNT player with the “poor first touch”. And here I was thinking all you guys valued possession.

See DMB, pass the ball to DMB, see the ball bounce off DMB to the other side. See other side run down the field and score.

Some games he’s better, some games, he’s worse but to say that his skills are “superlative” is pure, unadulterated, dog poop.

He has been effective it’s true, but he has to be “on”, otherwise the USMNT would be better of with you in midfield.

That’s simply untrue. His first touch has betrayed him in big spots over the past year, but it’s not actually that bad. Not that his touch is silky smooth, but no one ever considered it notable one way or the other until the past year. But of course, USMNT fans don’t really remember anything beyond the past 6 months. As a matter of fact, we used to channel offense through him down the left side. His skills ARE superlative, as far as the US goes. Don’t think so? Name a better left winger we’ve ever had.

Also, as an aside, we Americans overvalue possession. The USMNT will square pass the ball a dozen times until someone turns it over. We don’t have the creativity to take chances. This is why we get killed when teams sit back and let us possess (see: USA vs. Czech Republic, 2006 World Cup). Players who can make threatening crosses like Beasley and Spector are incredibly rare (and rarer still are the likes of Feilhaber and Torres with the vision to make incisive passes in the midfield).